The Port of Seattle Commission today approved an immediate, short-term emergency financial relief package for airport-based businesses, barring evictions of tenants at Port of Seattle facilities (including live-aboard residents) due to an inability to pay rent through June 30, 2020. The Port also authorized the Executive Director to provide additional immediate relief to Port tenants such as maritime and real estate tenants.

Port of Seattle Commission President Peter Steinbrueck says, “Our business partners and their employees urgently need financial help now while they wait for federal relief. We stand together through this unprecedented global health crisis.”

The immediate, short-term emergency financial relief package for airport-based businesses includes a two-month deferral of rent and fees for airport tenants and concessionaires facing a severe collapse of economic activity due to COVID-19 related social distancing and travel restrictions. The Port says it will review information from tenants and concessionaires to assess the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic before considering an extension for additional two months.

Additionally, the Commission directed the Port to develop an outreach program for its tenants, their employees, and Port employees to facilitate their ability to access local, state, and federal relief resources. More than 19,000 individuals work at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) for more than 300 different companies. The airport is one of the largest job sites in King County, and one of the hardest hit by the sudden decline of travel.